Showing 9 results

Eastwood, Bairnsdale, Victoria. Dated 16 January 1904 - His book ['The Native Tribes of South East Australia'] is finished, with [Lorimer] Fison's help; he and his daughter [Mary?] are going to Lake Tigers [Lake Tyers?] to get some photos of some old Kumai [Kurnai] men; Fison is in poor health; does not wish to burden Frazer with having to read the proofs of his book, as previously suggested.

Melbourne. Dated Sept. 25, 29, 1908 - Has been going through [A. W.] Howitt's letters but doesn't think his notes are ready for publication as he still had research to do, and was working to show that exogamy was the rule, which he doesn't think needs proving again, despite R. H. Matthews' [recte Mathews] papers to the contrary; Matthews has been in communication with miners and cattle people in Central Australia who have a profound contempt for the natives and are unreliable sources of information. The letter continues, dated Sept. 29. He has received the letter Frazer wrote Miss Howitt about the inadvisability of reprinting Howitt's old papers, and he agrees; is interested to hear he is leaving Liverpool for Cambridge, remembers a longing he had at first to be back amongst old places, given he was in a modern town where nothing dated back more than fifty years; has been too busy for anthropological work but hopes to try Western Australia, as Central Australia and the Macdonnel Ranges are now 'spoilt'; Strehlow's papers are to be published, edited by [Moritz] von Leonhardi, 'a very uneducated man'; [Andrew] Lang has endeavored in van to draw him, and Matthews is now exploting his and [Francis] Gilllen's field as he had Howitt's; misses Howitt, as he has no one to discuss anthropologic matters with, as Gillen only comes over once every two years.

Xerox photocopies of over 240 letters, many of them of originals housed in other institutions. The letters are written by Frazer to multiple recipients with a few exceptions: eight are written by Lilly Frazer (to Miss Buckley, Sir Edmund Gosse, Bronisław Malinowski, and W. H. D. Rouse); one is from Henry Jackson to Frazer and five more are from others to others (two from Macmillan & Co. to Hermann Diels, one from Sir Francis Galton to Sir Clements Markham forwarding a letter from Frazer, one unrelated letter from John Sampson to Francis Jenkinson, and one memo from Otto Stapf to Sir David Prain). Five letters include covering letters from the institutions providing the copies. In addition, there are copies of a typescript draft of Frazer's article 'Our Debt to France', the draft of an address on the founding of the Frazer lectureships, and a translation of an article.

Recipients, with the number of letters present if more than five: Aksel Andersson, Terence Armstrong, Spencer Baird, Andrew Bennett, Arthur Bigge (Lord Stamfordham), Miss Buckley (of the Loeb Classical Library), Sir Ernest Budge, John Bullbrook, Francis Burkitt, Edward Clodd, Francis Cornford (16 letters), Otto Crusius, Sir Edwin Deller (6 letters), Hermann Diels (10 letters), Samson Eitrem, S. J. Evis, Jesse Fewkes, Douglas Freshfield, Sir Francis Galton (14 letters), Ernest Gardner, Charles-Marie Garnier (6 letters), Sir Edmund Gosse (42 letters), A. C. Haddon, Sir William Hardy (6 letters), Carl Lehmann-Haupt, C. W. Hobley, A. W. Howitt (7 letters), Mary Howitt, Henry Jackson, Francis Jenkinson (8 letters), Oskar Kallas, Sir Arthur Keith, William F. J. Knight, John Mackay, Bronisław Malinowski (9 letters), William Maxwell, A. G. W. Murray, G. G. A. Murray, Sir John Myres, Theodor Nöldeke, Karl Pearson, Sir David Prain (8 letters), Edward Rapson, A. G. Ross, Sir William Rothenstein, W. H. D. Rouse, Gustave Rudler, Charles Edward Sayle, Solomon Schechter (7 letters), Douglas Sladen, William Thalbitzer, Sir J. J. Thomson (21 letters), Sir D'Arcy Thompson, Hermann Usener, Sir Emery Walker, and Alfred Rayney Waller (6 letters).

Commissioners of Audit, Victoria. Melbourne. Dated 5 September 1899 - His daughter [Mary] agrees to Frazer's use of extracts from her work; discusses totemism, thinks the Intichiuma ceremonies were more widespread in Australia than now; Mrs Langen-Parker [Catherine Eliza Stow, who wrote using the name K. Langloh Parker?] lived where the Kamularoi class names existed; their old men who are sources, including William Berak, are now dying off.

Finch Street, East Malvern, Melbourne. Dated 25 February, 1901 - Thanks him for the GB, which arrived in the mail, and for the mention of his daughter [Mary]'s work on Australian folklore and legends which they still hope to see printed; will see [Baldwin] Spencer before he heads to Central Australia, and [Lorimer] Fison as well; hopes to be able to devote a year to the completion of his work on the organization of native tribes.

Finch Street, East Malvern, Melbourne. Dated 17 October, 1901 - He has gone through one of his chapters [of his work for his book 'Native Tribes of South East Australia'?] relating to the 'Mura-Muras' with [Lorimer] Fison and has made numerous changes after getting further information from Rev. Otto Siebert; so far the book is about 600 pages; has seen Andrew Lang's remarks on Frazer's work, and doesn't think his inferences are warranted; his daughter [Mary] has prepared a paper for the Folk Lore Society on some legends of the Dieri tribe; is looking forward to [Baldwin] Spencer's return from his expedition in January.

Melbourne - Has been going through [A. W.] Howitt's letters but doesn't think his notes are ready for publication as he still had research to do, and was working to show that exogamy was the rule, which he doesn't think needs proving again, despite R. H. Matthews' [recte Mathews] papers to the contrary; Matthews has been in communication with miners and cattle people in Central Australia who have a profound contempt for the natives and are unreliable sources of information. The letter continues, dated Sept. 29. He has received the letter Frazer wrote Miss Howitt about the inadvisability of reprinting Howitt's old papers, and he agrees; is interested to hear he is leaving Liverpool for Cambridge, remembers a longing he had at first to be back amongst old places, given he was in a modern town where nothing dated back more than fifty years; has been too busy for anthropological work but hopes to try Western Australia, as Central Australia and the Macdonnel Ranges are now 'spoilt'; Strehlow's papers are to be published, edited by [Moritz] von Leonhardi, 'a very uneducated man'; [Andrew] Lang has endeavored in van to draw him, and Matthews is now exploting his and [Francis] Gilllen's field as he had Howitt's; misses Howitt, as he has no one to discuss anthropologic matters with, as Gillen only comes over once every two years.

Clovelly, Metung. Dated 12 March, 1904 - Is coming to London with his daughter May; suggests [Baldwin] Spencer knows more about the ceremony of circumcision and subincision, and the knocking out the tooth is in his chapter on Ceremonies of Initiation; did not pay attention to totemism before, but has found a survival in the Kurnai, and is annoyed he did not learn it before, but totems are not prominent in their society.

24 Ladbroke Gardens, Notting Hill, W. Dated 13 July, 1904 - Thanks him for his letter and continues the discussion of the belief in the tribal all father, including mention of the 'mungan-ngaur' among the Kurnai; regrets he did not discuss this matter with [Baldwin] Spencer and does not see why Frazer should excuse Spencer's letter; his daughter [Mary] has been helping him go over the proofs but is sure there will be something overlooked when they receive the revise; with a page with an addition to the text [of his book 'The Native Tribes of South East Australia'] about the all father.